First Lady Harriet Rebecca Lane
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and the Cutters That Have Borne Her Name before her fifth birthday; two more would pass away when she was still a young woman. Her mother passed away in 1839 when Harriet was only nine, and her father died two years later. Harriet Lane’s maternal uncle, Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator James Buchanan, adopted her after her father’s death. Nicknamed “Nunc” by his niece, Buchanan found himself the guardian of a lively 11-year-old girl he nicknamed “Hal.” Senator Buchanan felt that his ward would
library of congress
ust over 160 years ago, at a time when women remained relatively invisible in public life, Harriet Rebecca Lane was the nation’s most politically powerful and celebrated woman. She was the first to receive the title of “First Lady” during her time in the White House, and she was the first female namesake of a United States revenue cutter. Born in 1830, Harriet Lane was the sixth of seven siblings; ultimately she would survive them all, with four siblings dying
by William H. Thiesen
Pennsylvania Senator James Buchanan adopted his eleven-year-old niece, Harriet Lane, after she was orphaned in 1841. He was elected 15th president of the United States in 1856.
p.d. image, courtesy wikipedia
be spoiled by over-exposure to Washington society, so he sent her to the Merritt Boarding School in Charleston, Virginia (now West Virginia), for three years. Lane was widely read and well educated for her day, completing an additional two years at the Visitation Convent School in Georgetown. Lane and Buchanan grew very close, and he relied on her judgment and political wisdom, even in her youth. In 1854, after living a few years in Washington with her uncle, Harriet Lane traveled to London when Buchanan became ambassador to the Court of St. James. There, she dined with Queen Victoria, danced with Prince Albert, and received the title of “Ambassador’s Wife” from the Queen. In less than two years in London Lane won over the hearts of English society including a number of unsuccessful British suitors. Harriet Rebecca Lane (1830–1903). When her uncle and guardian was elected president, Lane moved to Washington, DC, with him and became America’s first “First Lady.” 16
SEA HISTORY 163, SUMMER 2018